TOW THE NOTEBOOK A Mondler alternate love story
by lavender615
Summary: Senior year...Monica's last chance of true love. Together with Rachel, she concocts a plan to finally make Chandler hers. When she tells him how she feels about him, would he feel the same way? Or will he laugh it off her face?
1. Chapter 1

_**Please note that the events that happened in this story are truly fictional, and are not in any way related to the events that happened on friends, or said to have happened. The characters are based from the top rating TV show, Friends…_

_By the way, I love Mondler, and thus the fan fic._

**1986, Senior Year…**

"Ooohhh, I can't wait for senior year to start!" Monica exaltedly said to her friend, Rachel. "Rach, I can feel this would be the year…the year Chandler would finally notice that I'm alive."

"Well Monica, it should be, because this is the last chance you've got with him…we're off to college next fall."

"I KNOW!!" Monica exclaimed.

Three whole years, Monica thought, three whole years wasted. "If only I was courageous enough to tell him how I feel three years ago, I would probably have him…or at least I wouldn't waste three years on this stupid crush..."

She can still remember vividly, the first day of freshman year. The first day she saw Chandler.

**Three years ago…**

"Rachel, I hate myself."

"Monica, would you please stop pitying yourself…you look normal, like you always do everyday."

"That's the problem. We're already in high school, not in middle school. I want to pop, you know, stand out. I don't wanna be plain Monica anymore."

"Monica don't you worry. With a little help, from me, your ever loyal best friend, I'm going to make you the most popular girl in high school!"

"That's easy for you to say", Monica whispered to herself. But as she observed Rachel primping infront of the mirror, she thought that her friend may have made a real point. Rachel was always the most popular girl in junior high, so she must know what she's talking about.

Finally she made up her mind. "Hey Rach, come to think about it, I just might take you up on your offer."

"Oh how wonderful!!! Finally, you're my project this year! I'm telling you Monica, before the end of freshman year, you're gonna be one of the most popular kids in school, not to mention a really, really cute boyfriend!"

"Do you think so Rach?"

"I don't think so, I know so!" Rachel affirmed.

****

Two weeks later, on the first day of high school, Rachel came to pick up Monica on the way to school. She rang the doorbell to the Geller's home, and Ross got the door.

"Good morning Ross! Is Monica ready?"

Ross just stared at the vision in front of him.

"Uh, Ross, hello? I'm asking if Monica's ready." She waved her hand in front of his face.

"Oh, hi Rachel," squeaked Ross. "Just go upstairs and get her. Mom has been calling her for an hour for breakfast, and she hasn't been down."

"It's probably just the jitters. I've had a few myself this morning, but what the heck, I'm in high school!! I'm gonna rule the school!! Well, I'm going to get her now Ross, or we'll going to be running late, and I don't need detention today!"

"Okay. I'm just on my way out to school myself. By the way, Mom made pancakes for breakfast. Just help yourself if you want some, 'kay?

"No prob!"

Ross sighed as his eyes followed Rachel running upstairs. "What a great start to my sophomore year, looking dumb in front of Rachel!" Ross then grabbed his bag from the couch and went out the door.

Rachel got upstairs and knocked on Monica's door. "Mon, its me. Ross sent me up, and for a good reason too…we're gonna be running late if you don't hurry up girl."

"Um, uh, I don't think I can go to school today Rach. I think I'm coming down with something", Monica then fake coughs.

"Monica, don't you give me that excuse. That's the worst fake cough I've ever heard! Remember, you're talking to the master here! Nothing as stupid as that can get past me!! I'm coming in!" Rachel yelled.

"Oh yeah right…NOOOO RACHEL! I CAN'T LET YOU SEE ME LIKE THIS!!"

The door creaked as Rachel opened the door and suddenly…

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!! MONICA WHAT HAPPENED??!!"

Rachel stared at the girl in front of her. Red spots were all over her face and neck, and her hair was fringed and frizzy.

"Monica…what happened to your face? Not to mention your hair!"

"I know! Rachel, help me." Monica squeaked. "I…I don't know what to do."

"First, tell me what happened."

"Well, I decided to go with the look we talked about yesterday, " Monica started, "you know, crimped hair and makeup. But I can't just borrow my mom's iron and makeup, since she would ground me for life if I did, so I did a last-minute shopping to the store and bought the cheapest curling iron and makeup I could find. I didn't know I was allergic to cheap makeup!" she cried.

"And the hair?" Rachel inquisitively said.

"Well, I left the iron a few seconds longer than it should be."

"How long?"

"Three minutes"

"Oh my god! No wonder your hair looked like a grassfire after it was extinguished! Don't you worry, I'll think of something. Do you have a bonnet, or a hat of some kind? Or even a scarf, it's more fashionable. And a hair serum or tonic."

"I have a cap here. And i think mom has some hair serum. I'll just run into their room and get some."

"It'll work! And as for your face, hmm…" Rachel thought, and rummaged into her purse. "I have a cover-up here. Don't you worry, this is the hypoallergenic type," Rachel assured Monica when she saw her panicked expression. "I'll just use this to lighten up the pock marks a bit, 'kay?"

"Okay", Monica quiveringly answered. After a few minutes…

"You can look in the mirror, Mon."

As Monica hesitantly looked at herself in a mirror, she gasped. "You're a magician, Rach!" She observed herself in the mirror. Almost all the spots are invisible, and as for her hair, Rach braided her hair loosely and inserted it through the cap's back hole. She almost looked normal again. Rachel really outdid herself, she thought.

"Thanks, thanks… sometimes I can't believe I even surprise myself. And now that you're done, we really should get to school!! We only have 5 minutes before the bus arrives, and we have to run if we want to make it on time!!"

"Okay, just let me grab my things and let's go!!"

****

"Monica, hurry!" Rachel shouted to Monica as they ran the steps towards the front door of the school. "we only have a few minutes before homeroom starts, and we have to find where it is!"

"I'm running, I'm running…ooops!" Monica fumbled, dropped her bag and spilled her things all over the front steps of the school."

"What now??" Rachel frustratingly said.

"I just dropped my things, you go on, I'll just pick this up…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes I'm sure, I don't want to make you late."

"Okay, if you're sure…see you later Mon, I really can't have detention today, my mom would kill me if I bring home another detention slip!" Rachel ran towards the front door.

As Monica picked up her books, another hand picked up her notebook. She looked up to see whose hand it is, and she gasped.

"Need help?"

Standing in front of Monica is the cutest guy she's ever seen in her entire life. He's even cuter than Tom Cruise, she thought.

"I said, do you need help?" The guy smiled at her.

"Oh, yeah, sorry…I just dropped my books running on the way to school…maybe you should too, don't mind me. I don't want to make you late too. It's enough to make myself get in trouble, but to bring somebody down with me would be a torture to my conscience!" I sound like a babbling idiot, she realized.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm just being a good Samaritan here" the guy said, while picking up her book. "I saw someone who need help, and who better to help her but me, right? Besides, there's no one here to help you. By the way, I'm Chandler. Are you starting freshman year too?"

"Yes I am. I'm Monica." She smiled at him as she stood up and looked around. "Well, we got everything."

"That's nice to know...At least I made a friend today." Chandler grinned. "Hey, I guess we better go in now, or the principal would probably kick our butts towards detention if she sees us."

"You're right. See you later Chandler, bye!" Monica said as they went their separate ways.

"Bye Monica, see you around too!"

As Monica ran towards the school, she couldn't stop grinning. I can't believe my luck, she contemplated, maybe things would really get a whole lot better for me in high school. I can't wait to tell Rach!! Monica then checked her bag and realized that the cute guy forgot to hand over to her her notebook! Ey, it doesn't matter, she assured herself, nothing's written in there anyway…

**Back to 1986…**

Yeah right, Monica thought. Since their unforgettable rendezvous in the front steps, she never got to "see him later." The next time she saw Chandler, he was surrounded by cheerleaders, and she never got the guts to come up to him and announce herself. As for Rachel's makeover plan, she blew that off as well. Seeing Chandler flirting with other girls just got her heart out of the project. Ever since their memorable moment, everything about her seemed to revolve around Chandler. Chandler this, and Chandler that.

"Honestly Mon, I don't even know why you keep pining for the guy." Rachel stated. "He doesn't even notice you, let alone kept his promise to 'see you around'. I'm telling you, just move on honey, and find yourself a new man! There's a lot of fish in the sea, Mon. Just throw in the line, they'll bite on your worm then reel them in! Maybe Chandler's just not a worm man, or a worm fish, if you know what I mean!"

"Try telling my heart that. I did but, it doesn't seem to listen. It just keeps beating, beating for Chandler! Aw, I hate myself for saying that, I sound so mushy!" Monica quipped, hitting herself on the head.

"You know what they say about people who are in love, they're so mushy they don't even know it!!" Rachel suddenly diverted her eyes behind Monica, and tugged on Mon's sweater. "Uh Mon, puppy love alert! Now's your chance to snag him, he's alone!!"

"Are you crazy, I can't do it now! We have to have a well-laid plan before I put it in action."

"At least say hi!" Rachel quipped, "Here's your chance -- hi Chandler!" Rachel said as Chandler passed by.

"Hi Rachel, hi Monica!" Chandler greeted them with a matching smile. "How's your summer?"

I can't believe he knows my name, Monica bewildered with shock, stared at the floor. All words flew out of her brain.

"Oh really great, right Mon?" Monica just nodded, and kept staring at the floor.

"Uh, okay. Well see you around Rachel. You too Monica." Chandler said and gave them another dazzling smile.

"Same to you Chandler, bye!" Rachel said, then turned to Monica. "Why did you just stand there like a statue? You didn't even say anything, much less a hi!!" Rachel frustratingly told Monica.

"Do you think I like looking stupid in front of him? Its not because I don't want to, but I can't, I really can't!" Monica was yelling in hysteria.

"Okay, okay calm down Mon. I'm sorry. Its just that I gave you your chance, and you blew that off again. At least, he knows your name, if that could be considered a 'headway'. Fine, let's do it 'your way. Tonight, I'll come by your house and we'll start the planning process, okay?"

"Okay, " Monica answered. "But I think it's better if I come to your house instead. Ross' geek friends are coming over earlier, and they might get a little rambunctious discussing evolution or something like that, and I don't want to spend my makeover session hearing about Darwin or Lucy or whatever. I'll come around 8:30, is that okay?"

"Perfect actually. Chip invited me to an early dinner at their house so I'll just be getting home around that time too." Rachel affirmed.

"Okay see you then! Oooh, I'm so excited!" Monica waved to Rachel as she entered her classroom.

******

Three years, Chandler thought as he walked to his next class. Three years that he has been haunted by the girl he met freshmen year. The first girl he met in high school actually, and the first girl he ever fell in love with.

"Why can't I ask her out? Could I be any more lamer?" Chandler contemplated aloud.

"Yeah man, why can't you ask her out?" His best friend Joey appeared behind him and patted him on the back. "I saw you earlier, you finally got the guts to sorta talk to her, why didn't you take the plunge and asked her out?"

"Man, Monica's not an ordinary girl. I know she's not the type of girl who would go out with the next guy who asks her out in a crowded school hallway. She's worth more than that. If I would ask her out, it'd have to be in a special way." Chandler stated.

"Man, I'm telling you, that girl gets hotter every year. If you don't ask her out right away, somebody will, and you would spend the rest of your life pining for your unrequited love…" Joey said, chuckling. Seeing that a cute girl was about to pass, Joey hollered at her, "How you doin'?",and the girl giggled.

Chandler hardly noticed what happened. "You're right man. I gotta take the plunge sometime soon. All I know is I've waited long enough, and I don't think I could let my chance for true happiness pass me by any longer."

"Yeah buddy, that's the spirit!" Joey cheered. "Honestly man, I can't believe you. I mean you've dated about three-fourths of the cheerleading squad already without shuddering, not to mention half the population of the girls here in school has a crush on you, a feat that brought you up to your James Bond status with the guys in this school. But with this girl, a simple, not-so-popular girl, you have a hard time asking out? I can't figure that out man!"

"Me too man," Chandler wondered, "me too.

*****

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

_***hi guys, if you want me to finish the story, please rate! Thanks…_

Later in the evening in Rachel's room, Monica was sitting in front of Rachel's vanity, and Rachel was crimping her hair.

"When crimping your hair, you should never exceed 10 seconds for each part, or else you would end up looking like you did freshman year, " Rachel said, with a smile playing on her lips as she remembered that disastrous day three years ago.

"Oh please Rach, like I need reminding of that day. It still haunts me in my dreams, for chrissakes!!" Monica whimpered. "Anyway, do you have any advice for me? I mean any techniques or process of snagging a guy like Chandler?"

"Gosh Mon, you make it sound like a machine or something. It's just simple actually, you just gotta have the guts. If you don't, then don't even bet that it would work."

"But that's my problem! I'm so shy, I don't even know how to talk to guys, let alone a guy that I actually like!" Monica cried. "Maybe I should just bail out on this whole thing."

"Again?" Rachel shouted. "Monica, are you kidding? I thought this is your year? Look honey, let me tell you something. All people have guts, it just needs to be brought out. And in order for it to be brought out, something big should happen, and for you, this is it. If you don't call three years of being a lovesick fool not big, then I don't know what is!"

"Well, that's easy for you to say, since you already have brought it out…I still need to bring it out, and that's the hardest thing I ever have to do!"

"Even harder than putting up with Ross playing Barracuda in his keyboard full blast every night in your basement?" Rachel snickered.

"Nothing is harder than that." Monica admitted with a chuckle.

****

While the girls are having their planning night, Joey and Chandler on the other hand are hanging out in their usual couch in Central Perk.

"Channy and Monny sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Joey sang.

"That is so juvenile, beat it Joe!"

"What? In English please." Joey said.

Chandler sarcastically answered. "Oh sorry, I didn't realize I'm speaking gibberish again, I said please stop, what you're doing is childish. Really the kissing song? You're much cooler than that!"

"Yeah I thought so too. Just like you not asking Monica out."

"That's different."

"No it isn't. It's exactly the same." Joey answered.

"Whatever buddy. Anyway," Chandler faced Joey, "since you're more of a ladies man compared to myself, maybe you could give me some pointers on how to ask Monica out." Chandler asked.

"Chan, I don't think I'm the right person you should ask about that. The most special thing I ever did for a girl was giving her a box of chocolates, and that's just because I didn't like rum in my chocolate, and I didn't want it to go to waste!" Joey told Chandler.

"You're probably right. Well, I'm sunk! Maybe I should just kiss the chances of being with Monica good-bye." Chandler said, dejected. Joey was silent, looking at his soda can.

"I said maybe I should kiss the chances of hooking up with Monica good-bye." Chandler repeated, but Joey remained silent and kept staring at the can of soda.

"Man, are you even listening to me? Or do you find the ingredients of your cola more interesting than my dilemma? Hello, buddy?" Suddenly Joey yelled.

"I GOT IT!" Chandler, who just took a sip of his soda, showered it out.

"WHAT!! Look what you did, I spilled soda all over myself!!" Chandler snapped at Joey while reaching for a tissue in the counter and wiped his shirt with it.

"Remember the geeky senior guy last year who kept following us? Afro hairdo, moustache, real gangly? I think he's Monica's friend or something, I often see him with her. I think his name was Ronald something, or Rob something…" Joey said.

"You mean Ross, Monica's brother. What about him?" Chandler asked.

"Hey, you really do like Monica, you even know her family tree!! Anyway, he's your key to Monica!" Joey excitedly said.

"Are you nuts?? He might kill me if he knew I'll make a move on his sister! I've got a reputation man, and I don't think he agrees with me. If I have a sister, I wouldn't let her date me too! Wait, wait I think that didn't come out right!!" Chandler stuttered.

"Who cares" Joey said, "look man, this is the best idea we could think of in such short notice. And we're not stupid enough telling him that right away. What I mean is, maybe we could befriend this Rob guy –"

"Ross" Chandler corrected.

"---okay, Ross guy and get on his good side. Then when we do, BAM! We go in for the kill!" Joey exclaimed, pounding his fist on his other palm.

"Isn't that a little, user-friendly?" Chandler doubted.

"So? You want the girl right? It's not like you're going to hurt his sister anyway. Do you really, really, really like Monica, or is she like your flavor of the month or something?" Joey inquired.

"You know better than I do that that will never be my intention when Monica is involved." Chandler irritatingly answered.

"Hey, don't bite my head, I'm just saying. I want you to hook up with her as much as you do, and unfortunately, you don't like my idea, so we're back to square one…I guess you should get used to the idea of Monica cozying up with some guy from her class…"

"Okay, okay Joey! Let's do your stupid idea! We don't' have time to waste!" Chandler said.

"Heh-heh, I knew you'll see it my way Channy-fanny!" Joey teased.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT JOE! COULD YOU BE ANY MORE LOUDER?" Chandler bellowed. "Tomorrow night at my house, don't be late." Chandler added.

"What if I have a date, you know the J-Man keeps his schedule open for possible opportu–" Joey suddenly looked at Chandler, saw his expression, then added "okay, tomorrow night, I promise."

****

Chandler decided to walk home alone, leaving Joey in the bar with some waitress. Wow, I can't believe Joey, I don't think he even noticed I left, Chandler realized. He went through the backdoor, which leads into their kitchen, got an apple from the fruit basket and called his parents. "Mom, Dad I'm home!"

Nobody answered. Well, Chandler thought, what's new?

Ever since as a child, Chandler hardly get to see his parents at home. His mother, popular romance novelist, and his father, a stockbroker, usually are too busy to go home and tend to his needs. Oh well, Chandler thought, I'm the Chan-Chan Man! I don't need the 'rents to take care of me!

He went directly to his room while biting on his apple and threw his bag on the bed. He then stooped down and put his hand under his mattress, and pulled out a key that opened a locked drawer on his nightstand. He then pulled out a black and white spotted notebook, and opened it. The pages have turned yellow, and at the bottom right hand corner of the page it was written:

"PROPERTY OF MONICA E. GELLER – ROSS KEEP OUT!!"

Everyday for three years, it has been Chandler's habit to look at Monica's notebook. He meant to return it three years ago when he realized that he had it, but it seems to have a magnetic pull on him. Even though nothing is written after the first page, it seems that this is the nearest connection he has with Monica, and he doesn't have the willpower to return it. Whenever his parents fight over something in the middle of the night, Monica's notebook is the only thing that calms his spirits. Or whenever they lose a big game, this is the only thing that makes him feel better.

"Could I be any more weirder?" Chandler mused to himself.

And as he looked at Monica's notebook for the 1096th time, everything that happened on the day they met flashed before his eyes…

**To be continued…**


End file.
